Category: environmental Studies

Policy and Legislation In the previous chapters, we have learnt about the environment, ecosystem, natural resources, biodiversity and its importance for the living world, especially for mankind. We have also learnt how environmental problems such as pollution and climate change affect and threaten our survival. There is a need for knowing the legal and constitutional provisions for protecting and nurturing the nature. In this chapter, we will learn about such provisions and acts. Need for Policy & Legislation It has always been the desire of man to have clean air, clean water and environment free of toxins and pollutants. In the first half of the last century, there were few legal and constitutional mechanisms in place to protect the environment and the natural resources found in a country. Increasing pollution and mounting pressure on air, water and land quality led to environmental legislations being designed to protect the environment from harmful actions. Due to the current state of the environment, policy makers in every country need to place a top priority on environmental policy. Natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable and wildlife are continuously being under threat. It is estimated that considering the present rate of exploitation of such resources we are going to be devoid of many important resources in near future. Unless we take care of them and resort to a sustainable use, we will make our posterity live without resources. Hence, there is a need for environmental policies and legislations. What is an Environmental Policy? Policy refers to a set of principles or plans agreed upon by a government or an organization to be carried out in a particular situation. Environmental policy is defined as “any action deliberately taken to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and to ensure that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on human or the environment”. Environmental policy usually covers air and water pollution, waste management, ecosystem management, biodiversity protection, and the protection of natural resources, wildlife and endangered species. Proper policies and legislations at the national and the international levels can reduce the venomous pollution and help protect biodiversity and natural resources. What is an Environmental Legislation? Environmental legislation is a set of laws and regulations which aim at protecting the environment from harmful actions. Legislation may take many forms, including regulation of emissions that may lead to environmental pollution, taxation of environment- and health-damaging activities, and establishing the legal framework for trading schemes, for example, carbon emissions. Other actions may rely on voluntary agreements. Among major current legislative frameworks are those relating to environmental permitting, and those mandating environment and health impact assessments. Environmental Protection Act Most of the countries in the world have enacted Environmental Protection Acts considering the need for the protection of our environment. In the US, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970 promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). It is referred to as the ‘environmental Magna Carta’ in the USA because it was an early step towards the development of US’ environmental policy. Other environmental acts in the USA are as follows. Clean Air Act of 1970 and 1990 Clean Water Act of 1972 Endangered Species Act of 1973 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 National Forest Management Act of 1976 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 Environmental Protection Acts in India In the Constitution of India, it is clearly stated that it is the duty of the state to ‘protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country’. It imposes a duty on every citizen ‘to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife’. There are a number of environmental acts enacted in India. Some of the important legislations in this respect are − Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 Environmental Protection Act, 1986 Handling and Management of Hazardous Waste Rules, 1989 The National Environmental Tribunal Act, 1995 The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 Environmental Protection Act, 1986 Environmental Protection Act, 1986, was a statutory response that came into effect a year after the tragic Bhopal Gas Tragedy and is considered an umbrella legislation as it addresses many loopholes in the existing environmental laws. It was enacted as per the spirit of the Stockholm Conference held in June 1972 to take suitable measures for the protection and reinvigoration of environment and related matters. The Environment (Protection) Act is applicable to whole of India including Jammu & Kashmir. It came into force on November 19, 1986. EPA 1986 was enacted largely to implement the decisions made at the UN Conference on Human Environment held at Stockholm in June, 1972. It was to co-ordinate the activities of the various regulatory agencies under the existing laws. It also seeks collection and dissemination of information on environmental pollution. A lot have been done to protect and improve the environment world over. However much remains to be done for building a sustainable society. New mechanisms are being put in place to expedite the process of protecting and improving the environment. For example, new institutions — the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and the State Environment Management Authorities (SEMA) — in India have been proposed as full-time technical organizations with the capacity to process all environmental clearance applications in a time-bound manner. Learning working make money

Environmental Studies – Energy Resources Energy is defined by physicists as the capacity to do work. Energy is found on our planet in a variety of forms, some of which are immediately useful to do work, while others require a process of transformation. The sun is the primary energy source in our lives. Besides, water, fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum products, water, nuclear power plants are sources of energy. Growing Energy Needs Energy has always been closely linked to man’s economic growth and development. Present strategies for development that have focused on rapid economic growth have used energy utilization as an index of economic development. This index, however, does not take into account the long-term ill effects on society of excessive energy utilization. For almost 200 years, coal was the primary energy source fueling the industrial revolution in the 19th century. At the close of the 20th century, oil accounted for 39% of the world’s commercial energy consumption, followed by coal (24%) and natural gas (24%), while nuclear (7%) and hydro/renewable (6%) accounted for the rest. Industrialization, urbanization, and unbelievable rise in human settlements have multiplied the energy requirement by several times. Modern lifestyle and man’s growing dependence on machines and equipment for his personal and professional work has added to the energy demand. Global oil demand continues to grow until 2040, mostly because of the lack of easy alternatives to oil in road freight, aviation and petrochemicals, according to WEO-2016, published by International Energy Agency. Renewable Energy Resources Renewable energy systems use resources that are constantly replaced and are usually less polluting. Examples include hydropower, solar, wind, and geothermal (energy from the heat inside the earth). We also get renewable energy from burning trees and even garbage as fuel and processing other plants into bio-fuels. Wind Energy The moving air or wind has huge amounts of kinetic energy, and it can be transferred into electrical energy using wind turbines. The wind moves the blades, which spins a shaft, which is further connected to a generator, which generates electricity. An average wind speed of 14 miles per hour is needed to convert wind energy into electricity. Windgenerated electricity met nearly 4% of global electricity demand in 2015, with nearly 63 GW of new wind power capacity installed. Solar Energy Solar energy is the light and heat procured from the sun. It is harnessed using an everevolving technologies. In 2014, global solar generation was 186 terawatt-hours, slightly less than 1% of the world’s total grid electricity. Italy has the largest proportion of solar electricity in the world. In the opinion of International Energy Agency, the development of affordable, inexhaustible, and clean solar energy technologies will have longer-term benefits. Biomass Energy When a log is burned we are using biomass energy. As plants and trees depend on sunlight to grow, biomass energy is a form of stored solar energy. Although wood is the largest source of biomass energy, agricultural waste, sugarcane wastes, and other farm byproducts are also used to produce energy. Hydropower Energy produced from water is called hydropower. Hydroelectric power stations both big and small are set up to produce electricity in many parts of the world. Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region generating 32 percent of global hydropower in 2010. In 2015, hydropower generated 16.6% of the world’s total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity. Tidal and Wave Power The earth’s surface is 70% water. By warming the water, the sun creates ocean currents and the wind that produces waves. It is estimated that the solar energy absorbed by the tropical oceans in a week could equal the entire oil reserves of the world – 1 trillion barrels of oil. Geothermal Energy It is the energy stored within the earth (“geo” for earth and “thermal” for heat). Geothermal energy starts with hot, molten rock (called magma) deep inside the earth which surfaces at some parts of the earth’s crust. The heat rising from the magma warms the underground pools of water known as geothermal reservoirs. If there is an opening, hot underground water comes to the surface and forms hot springs, or it may boil to form geysers. With modern technology, wells are drilled deep down the surface of the earth to tap into geothermal reservoirs. This is called direct use of geothermal energy, and it provides a steady stream of hot water that is pumped to the earth’s surface. Learning working make money

Environmental Studies – Ecological Pyramid Ecological Pyramid refers to a graphical (pyramidal) representation to show the number of organisms, biomass, and productivity at each trophic level. It is also known as Energy Pyramid. There are three types of pyramids. They are as follows − Pyramid of Biomass As the name suggests, the Biomass Pyramids show the amount of biomass (living or organic matter present in an organism) present per unit area at each trophic level. It is drawn with the producers at the base and the top carnivores at the tip. Pyramid of biomass is generally ascertained by gathering all organisms occupying each trophic level separately and measuring their dry weight. Each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at a particular time called standing crop, which is measured as the mass of living organisms (biomass) or the number in a unit area. Upright Pyramid of Biomass Ecosystems found on land mostly have pyramids of biomass with large base of primary producers with smaller trophic level perched on top, hence the upright pyramid of biomass. The biomass of autotrophs or producers is at the maximum. The biomass of next trophic level, i.e. primary consumers is less than the producers. Similarly, the other consumers such as secondary and tertiary consumers are comparatively less than its lower level respectively. The top of the pyramid has very less amount of biomass. Inverted Pyramid of Biomass On the other hand, a reverse pyramidal structure is found in most aquatic ecosystems. Here, the pyramid of biomass may assume an inverted pattern. However, pyramid of numbers for aquatic ecosystem is upright. In a water body, the producers are tiny phytoplankton that grow and reproduce rapidly. In this condition, the pyramid of biomass has a small base, with the producer biomass at the base providing support to consumer biomass of large weight. Hence, it assumes an inverted shape. Pyramid of Numbers It is the graphic representation of number of individuals per unit area of various trophic levels. Large number of producers tend to form the base whereas lower number of top predators or carnivores occupy the tip. The shape of the pyramid of numbers varies from ecosystem to ecosystem. For example, in an aquatic ecosystem or grassland areas, autotrophs or producers are present in large number per unit area. The producers support a lesser number of herbivores, which in turn supports fewer carnivores. Upright Pyramid of Numbers In upright pyramid of numbers, the number of individuals decreases from the lower level to the higher level. This type of pyramid is usually found in the grassland ecosystem and the pond ecosystem. The grass in a grassland ecosystem occupies the lowest trophic level because of its abundance. Next comes the primary producers – the herbivores (for example – grasshopper). The number of grasshoppers is quite less than that of grass. Then, there are the primary carnivores, for example, the rat whose number is far less than the grasshoppers. The next trophic level is the secondary consumers such as the snakes who feed on the rats. Then, there are the top carnivores such as the hawks who eat snakes and whose number is less than the snakes. The number of species decreases towards the higher levels in this pyramidal structure. Inverted Pyramid of Numbers Here, the number of individuals increase from the lower level to the higher trophic level. For example, the tree ecosystem. Pyramid of Energy It is a graphical structure representing the flow of energy through each trophic level of a food chain over a fixed part of the natural environment. An energy pyramid represents the amount of energy at each trophic level and loss of energy at each is transferred to another trophic level. Energy pyramid, sometimes called trophic pyramid or ecological pyramid, is useful in quantifying the energy transfer from one organism to another along the food chain. Energy decreases as one moves through the trophic levels from the bottom to the top of the pyramid. Thus, the energy pyramid is always upward. Learning working make money

Environmental Studies – Natural Resources Resources obtained from nature, i.e. from the earth are called natural resources. These resources occur naturally, and humans cannot make them. The raw materials used in artificial or man-made resources are natural resources. Classification of Natural Resources Classification of natural resources can be done in several ways based on their origin, level of development and uses, stock or deposits, and their distribution. On the basis of their origin, natural resources can be classified into living or biotic and non-living or abiotic resources. Living or Biotic Resources If natural resources come from living things or organic materials, they are termed as living or biotic resources. Biotic resources include plants, animals and fossil fuels. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are classified as biotic resources as they are formed from the decay of organic matter over millions of years. Non-living or Abiotic Resources On the other hand, if the resources are derived from nonliving or inorganic materials, they are termed as abiotic resources. For instance, air, sunlight, and water are abiotic natural resources. Minerals are also considered abiotic. On the basis of deposit or stock, natural resources can be classified as renewable and non-renewable. Renewable Natural Resources Resources that can be used without any risk of its ending up are called renewable resources. They exist in unlimited quantity. Sun, water, wind, biomass, tides, geothermal energy, etc. are renewable resources. These are infinite sources of energy. Non-renewable Natural Resources Those natural resources, on the other hand, that cannot be replenished after their depletion is called non-renewable resources. Most fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum and natural gas are considered nonrenewable resources. Nonrenewable resources take billions of years for their formation, hence, their cautious and economic use is the only option left for mankind. On the basis of development of resources, natural resources can be classified as actual and potential resources. Actual Resources An actual resource is one which is used in current times. We know their approximate quantity, for example: coal deposit. Potential Resources A potential resource is one whose utility is not known at present or is not used despite having the same. Instead, it may be useful at some time in future. In other words, such resources have the potential to have utility, although it does not have any today. For example, uranium deposit in Ladakh in India. Learning working make money